


this might sound conceited but i've got the sweetest living recipe

by Dinosaur1212



Category: Atypical (TV 2017)
Genre: Dinner at a fancy restaurant after dating for a long time means only one thing, F/F, Fluff, I haven't known sleep since I started this, One Shot, Over 8000 words just for one main event, Set after they graduate from college, lots of flashbacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 06:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21453499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinosaur1212/pseuds/Dinosaur1212
Summary: Izzie takes Casey out to dinner at a fancy restaurant and they started talking about events from their relationship over the past six years.
Relationships: Casey Gardner & Izzie, Casey Gardner/Izzie
Comments: 8
Kudos: 202





	this might sound conceited but i've got the sweetest living recipe

**Author's Note:**

> This is honestly one of my favorite things that I've written, and I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really like writing in the present and then doing flashbacks throughout the entire story, so that's what this is. Also, the title is a lyric form the song Recipe by Wild Party. If you haven't heard it before, give it a listen, it's good. Anyways, on withe the tale!

“I can’t believe you took me out to this restaurant. It’s way fancier than anywhere we’ve ever been,” Casey noted, looking around at the detailed décor that was throughout the restaurant. 

Letting out a small chuckle, Izzie looked at Casey with nothing but love in her eyes, “I just thought that this date should be special. We have been dating for over six years, I just thought a fancy restaurant would be exciting.” 

Smiling at the girl who stole her heart all those years ago, Casey said, “And it is exciting, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting it.” 

“Just like you hadn’t been expecting that offer from UCLA our senior year,” Izzie remarked to Casey.

After Izzie’s comment, both girls thought back on that day and what had happened.

\--------------------------

_ It was their senior year at Clayton Prep, and Izzie was talking to Casey about somme assignment for calculus when Coach Crowley approached them. _

_ “I just heard from UCLA, they’re offering you a full ride, Casey,” Coach Crowley excitedly announced, happy to see that Casey’s hard work over the past year had paid off. She was proud of how Casey had managed to balance her life at home with track, and her relationship with Izzie with track. And that’s when it hit her, she had heard nothing about Izzie, and here she was celebrating with Casey right in front of Izzie. Crowley was surprised, however, when Izzie spoke up and said something. _

_ “Newton! You did it!” Izzie exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend in a hug. She had seen how hard Casey had worked since devoting her life to getting recruited to UCLA, and she felt nothing but happiness for Casey.  _

_ Casey was still too stunned to speak; she didn’t think she would ever stand a chance at actually being offered a full ride to UCLA. She felt Izzie hug her, but she was too stunned to really hug her back. After the initial surprise wore off, her mind instantly went to Izzie and what this meant for her girlfriend, because she really hadn’t really thought about what would happen if she got a scholarship and Izzie didn’t. Eventually, she managed to say, “I can’t believe this is happening. Thank you so much for training me this past year Coach.” _

_ “It’s been my honor kiddo,” Crowley said, smiling, before she added, “I better let you two get to class now, though, but I had to tell you before word got around.” Crowley clapped Casey on the back before walking away back to her office. _

_ “Look at me, dating the next superstar of UCLA’s track team,” Izzie gushed, kissing Casey on the cheek quickly before waiting for the taller girl to say something. When Casey didn’t say anything, Izzie could tell something was wrong, so she asked, “Are you okay, Newton?” _

_ Shrugging the question off, Casey said, “Yeah, we can talk about this later, but we really should get to class.”After saying this, Casey started walking off to their next class.  _

_ Izzie walked after her, left to think about what was wrong with Casey, which she would manage to figure out later. _

_ It wasn’t until after school at Casey’s house that Izzie was finally able to get Casey to talk about it. They had just finished sharing the news with Casey’s parents, and were now working on homework up in Casey’s bedroom. “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you, or no? You just found out you’re being offered a full ride, and you’re acting like you just found out your cat died,” Izzie said to Casey, concern laced throughout her voice. _

_ “I know you won’t quit pestering until I tell you, so I guess I’ll cut to the chase,” Casey nervously began, “Yeah, I’m happy I got offered the scholarship, because I worked hard to get it. But, you also worked just as hard as me, and they didn’t offer you anything. It’s not fair.” _

_ Izzie sighed at Casey’s comment, “They could still offer me something, or another college could, so how about we just be happy for today’s events, instead of worrying about anything else.”  _

_ “I guess we can do that, but I’m still going to be worried,” Casey admitted, because she was scared of the possibility of going to college in California and potentially being far away from Izzie. _

_ “I know you’re worried, because I am too. But I am still so excited for this opportunity for you,” Izzie said, moving on the bed so that she could kiss Casey as if to prove she wasn’t going anywhere. _

\--------------------------

“Yeah, that was a pretty intense day, but it wasn’t as bad as the day I moved into college,” Casey pointed out, knowing that that day had been awful for both her and Izzie.

“Ugh, you don’t have to remind me about that day,” Izzie comment, before thinking back to what that day had been like.

\--------------------------

_ In the end, Izzie hadn’t been offered a scholarship by UCLA or any school around UCLA. Instead, she had been offered a full ride to a school in Pennsylvania. It had taken a lot of convincing, but Izzie had eventually managed to convince Casey that they would be able to survive the distance, of course, after making the promise to FaceTime everyday. That was a stipulation that Izzie had agreed to quickly, because if Casey hadn’t mentioned it, she would have. So, Casey was off to college at UCLA and Izzie had accepted her offer to go to college in Pennsylvania. _

_ Izzie had gone out with Casey and Elsa to move Casey into her dorm at UCLA, because Casey was moving in a week before Izzie had to, so there was time for Izzie to accompany them. If there hadn’t been, she would’ve found time, because this would be the last time she would see Casey until Christmas break more than likely.  _

_ They were in the middle of putting stuff in Casey’s room when Elsa looked at the two of them and told them, “You two should go get something to eat and talk a little. You both need it.” _

_ “Are you sure Mrs Gardner?” Izzie asked, not wanting to burden her with all the work that still had to be done. _

_ Smiling at them, she answered, “Yes, I'm sure, now go.” Elsa motioned as if she was shooing them out the door, which caused the two girls to laugh as they headed towards the door of the dorm room. _

_ “Thanks mom, I appreciate this,” Casey genuinely admitted to her mom, before taking Izzie’s hand and walking away. _

_ The two girls really didn’t talk until they were sitting at a table with their food. They had opted for simply existing in each other’s presence, but they knew they would have to talk at some point. It was inevitable. _

_ “I keep thinking this is a dream and that I’m going to wake up and be right back at home,” Casey quietly admitted. _

_ “It is pretty surreal, but I can promise you it’s not a dream. You really accomplished your goal, and I’m proud of you,” Izzie expressed, stealing a fry off of Casey’s plate in the progress. _

_ Swatting at Izzie’s hand, Casey replied, “It was our goal though.” _

_ Sighing, Izzie responded, “That may be true, but I absolutely love where I’m going, so I can’t complain. And you love UCLA’s campus, so it’s a win-win.” When Casey didn’t say anything in response, Izzie continued talking, “I know you’re worried about the distance, and I get it, because I am too, but no amount of distance is going to change the fact that you are honestly the only person I can ever imagine being with, because I am so freakishly in love with you Casey Gardner.” _

_ Izzie’s words managed to get a smile out of Casey who said right back, “I am freakishly in love with you too Izzie. It’s just, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you close by to lay in bed and cuddle with.” _

_ “Well, Christmas break will be here before we know it, and we’ll be together again. I know it sucks now, but we have the whole rest of our lives ahead of us to spend together,” Izzie reassured Casey, and partially to reassure herself, because she was also internally freaking out with everything that was happening. _

_ “I know, but I hate that we won’t be able to see each other every day,” Casey glumly replied. _

_ Izzie nodded before saying, “I know, but just think how awesome it’ll be once we see each other again.” Izzie took a deep breath in an attempt to refrain from crying, because that was the last thing she needed to do right now. It was bad enough Casey was already apprehensive about the whole thing, her crying would only make things worse for Casey. _

_ Reluctantly agreeing, Casey said, “I guess you’re right.” Grabbing her plate, Casey stood up and said, “We should probably get back to my room, God only knows what Elsa has done to it.” _

_ Laughing at Casey’s comment, Izzie stood up as well and managed to say, “You’re right, but you also forgot the possibility of all the embarrassing stories she might have told people if any came by.” Taking a step towards Casey, Izzie intertwined her fingers with Casey’s, and the two started walking back to Casey’s dorm. _

_ The rest of the day went by fairly quickly, and there were no issues. That is, until it was time to go. It was at that point that everything seemed to truly seem real to everyone, but it was Izzie who actually broke down first. She hadn’t meant to, but when she was saying goodbye, the reality of what was happening hit her. She could feel the tears streaming down her face, but she could also feel Casey hugging her, telling her that everything was going to be alright. When she finally managed to gain some of her composure back, she noticed that Mrs Gardner was no longer in the room. _

_ Casey seemed to notice that Izzie was curious as to where Elsa whent, so she explained, “Elsa said she would give us a few minutes alone, and then she left. She’s probably downstairs waiting or something.” _

_ “Oh, okay,” Izzie mumbled out,wrapping her arms around Casey and hugging her back. As she did this, she said, “I’m sorry that I lost it there. I know that this is already hard and that probably didn’t help matters.” _

_ “You don’t have to apologize for your emotions Iz. It’s okay to cry, and I honestly thought you would’ve by now,” Casey explained, hugging Izzie a little tighter, not wanting to let go.  _

_ Izzie hugged Casey back tighter as well, and if she had been able to see Casey’s face, she would’ve seen a smile form on her girlfriend’s face. However, moments later Izzie was smiling as Casey had leaned forward so she could kiss the top of Izzie’s head. _

_ Pulling back, Casey murmured, “I love you so much Izzie, and I wish you could stay here with me, but you have your own amazing things to do in Pennsylvania. I wish I could help you move in.” _

_ Looking up at Casey, Izzie replied, “I love you too, you dork. And I wish you could too, but you have amazing things to do here.” _

_ Casey didn’t say anything back, instead, she lowered her head, leaning in to kiss Izzie. _

_ Almost immediately, Izzie was kissing Casey back, knowing this would probably be the last time she would get to kiss her girlfriend for a while. It hurt to think about, so Izzie shoved those thoughts aside, and instead focused on remembering every detail of this kiss, because it was all she would have for a while.  _

_ Of course, they kept kissing, and Izzie’s hand found her way to Casey’s cheek, and she could feel Casey’s hand on her waist. It was reminiscent of countless other times they had kissed, but for Izzie, it reminded her mostly of the first time they had ever kissed. There was just that much emotion in it, and the added factor of not knowing when it would happen again was making it even more intense.  _

_ Finally, they both pulled away, breathless, and they just stared at each other not saying anything. In all honesty, Izzie wasn’t sure she could say anything, or else she would start crying again, so rather than do that, she pulled away from Casey, grabbed her hand, and proceeded to start walking to the door. Neither girl spoke the entire time they headed to the bottom floor of the building where Elsa was. Izzie knew she wasn’t speaking because she was on the verge of tears, and she assumed the same was true for Casey. Plus, Izzie felt as if their kiss had said everything that needed to be said, so she really couldn’t think of anything to say. _

_ When they finally found Elsa, she looked back and forth between the two, and knew that while everyone was sad, everything was going to be just fine. Izzie let go of Casey’s hand so that Elsa could hug her daughter and talk to her for a few minutes. Then, her and Elsa were leaving, leaving behind the girl that meant so much to both of them. _

\--------------------------

“I wouldn’t have even brought it up, had you not decided to take a trip down memory lane with the day I found out about UCLA,” Casey said in an attempt to defend herself.

“I know, I know,” Izzie started out before continuing, “It’s just that I’m feeling very reminiscent today. And since you brought up the day you moved into UCLA, I’d like to bring up that Christmas break.” Izzie smiled, thinking back to the first time during that break when she had seen Casey again.

\--------------------------

_ At some point, Izzie had unofficially officially moved into the Gardner household, because after she graduated high school, her mom had moved to Florida, and had cut Izzie off from contacting her. Of course Izzie still found ways to talk to her siblings, but she had to be careful in order to not get them in trouble. It really sucked, but Izzie was glad that she still had people who cared about her. As it was, she was currently talking to Sam while they were all waiting for Casey. _

_ “So how’s living with Zahid going?” Izzie asked Sam, recalling how big of a milestone it was when he had started living with Zahid two years ago. _

_ Without looking up from what he was drawing, Sam answered, “It’s good, Padma brings over buttered noodles at least once a week.” _

_ Izzie nodded even though Sam couldn’t see her before asking another question, “And how’s Edison?” _

_ “Edison, he’s doing fine I guess,” Sam curtly replied before asking, “I need to finish this, could you leave me alone now?” _

_ Chuckling to herself, Izzie stood up and said, “Of course, Sam.” She was about to walk out of the room when she heard the door open, which meant one thing, Casey was home. When she turned around the first—and only—thing she saw was Casey. Sure, they had talked over FaceTime practically every day, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her dorky girlfriend in person. _

_ “Hey there,” Casey said before Izzie could say anything. She smiled at Izzie, because it truly was wonderful to be in the same room as her. _

_ Izzie swallowed hard before walking over to Casey and enveloping her in a hug. For the first time since August, Izzie felt complete, and it was a feeling she had missed. Pulling back from the hug, she looked up at Casey and mused, “Hey there yourself.” It was then that Izzie was aware of everyone else that was around them, the first specific thing she noticed, however, was Elsa taking a picture of the two of them. She made a mental note to ask for the picture later, and hoped Casey didn’t notice ELsa taking the picture, because she would demand the picture be deleted.  _

_ As if sensing what Izzie was thinking, Elsa put her phone back in her pocket, before turning to Doug and suggesting, “We should probably give them some time.” _

_ “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Doug replied, and started to walk to the kitchen, but as he went he said to Sam, “Come on, let your sister and Izzie spend some time together.” _

_ Izzie didn’t pay attention to what Sam said in response, she was too focused on flicking her gaze back and forth between Casey’s eyes and her mouth. She decided to wait a few seconds until the sound of footsteps subsided before placing her hand on Casey’s cheek and leaning in to kiss her, closing her eyes as she did so. She smiled into the kiss, content knowing that she would be able to be able to do this for approximately the next month.  _

_ Casey pulled away first and rested her head on Izzie’s before admitting, “You don’t know how much I missed that.” _

_ Pretending to ponder that statement for a few seconds, Izzie replied, “I think I have a good guess as to how much you did.” Kissing Casey quickly one more time, she suggested, “We should probably go be with your family, they haven’t seen you in months either.”  _

_ “They’re your family too,” Casey quickly replied, her voice full of conviction before adding, “And you’re right. We have an abundance of time to spend together now.” _

_ Both girls smiled at each other before walking to the kitchen where everyone else was at. For the next few hours, Casey and Izzie recounted stories of what had happened while they were at college, and they also talked about track and how they would have to go running while they were on break. At some point they ordered pizza and had it delivered, and they all sat around the table eating pizza while they talked about what else they were going to do while they were on break, as well as how nice it felt to be back at home. Sam even stuck around for most of the time, because Casey being at UCLA had impacted him more than he would ever admit. He even pulled out two drawings he had made; one for Casey, and the other for Izzie. Izzie’s was a drawing of her and Casey, and she smiled as she realized it was of her favorite picture she had taken with Casey. The one they had taken a few weeks after they had met when Casey had built a blanket fort for her in an attempt to cheer her up. She couldn’t thank Sam enough, because it was one of the best gifts she had ever been given. When she looked at Casey’s drawing, she saw that it was a drawing of her and Casey the day of their graduation. Izzie knew for a fact that it was a drawing of one of Casey’s favorite photos, and she couldn’t believe how sweet Sam had been by giving them these. She was sad to see Sam leave that night, but he had promised Paige that he would help her with something. It was shortly after he left that Izzie and Casey retreated to Casey’s room, and Izzie guessed, technically her room too since it was where she stored all of her stuff. _

_ “It’s nice to be able to do this,” Izzie proclaimed, flopping down on the bed, kissing Casey, before laying down with her head on Casey’s chest. Sighing in contentment, Izzie closed her eyes, taking in everything that was happening. She felt at peace and she knew it was because she was back with Casey. _

_ Casey hummed in agreement, wrapping her one arm around Izzie, “I don’t think you’re ever going to let me leave this room again.” _

_ Giggling, Izzie replied, “I don’t know what gave you that impression, but you’re right.” Izzie opened her eyes and started to absentmindedly trace patterns on Casey’s arm. _

_ “I’m always right,” Casey expressed, her voice full of mock superiority. _

_ “Oh my God, I’ve fed into your ego too much that you’re starting to make ridiculous statements,” Izzie jokingly stated, knowing that Casey actually was usually the one who was right. Changing the topic, she suggested, “How about we watch a movie?” _

_ “Just so you can fall asleep?” Casey questioned, knowing full well that Izzie fell asleep during every single movie they had ever watched together. _

_ Izzie’s voice turned serious as she assured Casey, “I won’t fall asleep this time, I promise. I have to soak up as much time with you as I can.” _

_ “Well if you insist,” Casey conceded, shifting so she could grab her laptop from her nightstand, opening it so they could find something to watch. _

_ Izzie let out a celebratory sound, and then they started trying to figure out what movie to watch. They argued back and forth for a few minutes when they had had it between two movies, and in the end Izzie won, she always did. Of course, the next time she would suggest they watch the movie Casey had wanted the time before; it was just how they did things. And sticking to routine, Izzie found herself falling asleep halfway through the movie, even though she had sworn she wouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. Casey was just too comfortable, and Izzie figured that Casey would know this would happen. _

\--------------------------

“You still fall asleep every time we watch a movie! I don’t think you’ve ever made it through one whole movie,” Casey exclaimed. If she was being honest, Izzie falling asleep on her was one of her favorite things. 

“Can you blame me? You make the best pillow, because you have the added bonus of making me feel safe,” Izzie nervously revealed. She had never really told Casey that, but considering what she had in mind for the day, Izzie figured it would be good to share it.

Casey’s face softened at Izzie’s comment, “You never told me that before, Iz.” She reached across the table and placed her one hand on top of Izzie’s and squeezed it reassuringly.

Izzie smiled meekly at Casey before saying, “I know I haven’t, but it’s true. You do make me feel safe.”

“Well, you do the same for me. Like how you came to my last track meet at UCLA,” Casey revealed.

“The look on your face when you saw me was the best,” Izzie admitted, thinking back to how she had surprised Casey.

\--------------------------

_ Life had admittedly gotten in the way for Izzie, or injuries had gotten in the way of track. During her junior year, she had been in the middle of a race when she heard a popping sound in her knee, followed by excruciating pain. Unfortunately, Izzie had refused to stop when it happened, and she somehow managed to finish the race, collapsing once she finished in excruciating pain. She knew she should have stopped when she felt the pain, but her race was the final one, and it was going to decide who won the meet. However, that split second decision ended up costing her her entire senior year of track. Doctors explained to her that when she felt the initial pain, it had been her ACL tearing, and she might have stood a chance at returning to track if she had stopped at that moment, but she had kept going, which ended up making the injury much worse than it had initially been. They told her there was no way she would be able to do track again, and it took Izzie a while to accept this fact; even longer because she didn’t have Casey with her to tell her everything was going to be okay. However, Elsa had come to visit Izzie throughout all of this and managed to help her get through it. The two had developed a deep bond over the years, and Izzie viewed her as the mother she always should’ve had. It was during her visit that Elsa had first brought up the idea of Izzie flying out to UCLA the next year in order to see Casey compete. Of course, Izzie had instantly loved the idea because it took her mind off the fact she wouldn’t be competing again, and she knew that’s why Elsa had suggested it. She had a knack for being able to help Izzie overcome problems, in fact, Izzie had gone to Elsa first when she learned that her mom was moving to Florida, taking Izzie’s siblings with her. _

_ Izzie reflected back on all of this as stepped into Drake Stadium. She was surprised by the amount of the people in the stands, but then again the UCLA track team was the best in the Pac-12 and it was all thanks in part to Casey. Izzie had always known that Casey was extremely good at track, and she was proud of all of Casey’s hard work paying off. Izzie knew that none of it had been easy, but then again Casey had told her that she wasn’t looking for easy the day she committed to training for UCLA.  _

_ “She’s gonna die when she sees you,” Elsa proclaimed, dragging Izzie out of her reverie. _

_ “I still can’t believe I’m here to see her compete. I never thought I would get to, but missing class yesterday to come out here was well worth it,” Izzie commented, her voice thoughtful. Coming out to see Casey had come at a much greater cost than simply missing a day of class, but she really was happy to be there. _

_ Deciding to comment on the conversation, Doug looked at Izzie and said, “I’m just surprised you were able to keep this as a surprise.”  _

_ Thinking about how she had almost revealed the surprise by accident, Izzie stated, “I almost didn’t. My roommate is the only reason I didn’t. She was in the room when I almost said something, and she stopped me by interrupting and talking to Casey.” _

_ “Sounds like you have a good roommate,” Doug commented, now focusing his attention to look out at the track to see if he could spot Casey. _

_ “Yeah, she’s pretty great, especially last year with my knee. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her,” Izzie reflects, knowing that Doug probably wasn’t going to respond. So she thinks back to how Taylor had helped her throughout college. If Izzie was being honest, Taylor was her only true friend other than Casey. _

_ Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Izzie focused her attention out on the track and she somehow managed to spot Casey almost instantly. Granted she had always had a knack for spotting Casey in a crowded place, it still amazed Izzie every time she managed to do it. She knew that Casey hadn’t seen her though, because Casey was preoccupied with warming up, plus she had no reason to suspect she would be there. Following after Casey’s parents, Izzie followed them into the stands and sat down beside Elsa once they found a place to sit. _

_ “I told her beforehand where we would try to sit, so she’s bound to look up her soon,” Elsa told Izzie, who was gazing out at Casey. _

_ Rather than respond to Elsa, Izzie just nodded in acknowledgment of what she had said, and continued watching Casey, waiting for the moment when her girlfriend would look up and see her. She didn’t have to wait long, because when Casey stopped to get a drink, she looked up in the stands, and Izzie knew the second Casey realized she was there. She could see Casey get a shocked expression on her face that turned into a smile when the initial shock passed. Izzie waved, and found herself smiling when Casey gave her a small wave back. But then Izzie could see that Casey was being called back to warming-up by her coach. After that, Izzie leaned back and waited for the meet to start. _

_ UCLA ended up being the overall winner of the meet, but what mattered most to Izzie was that Casey won her event. When Casey had been racing, Izzie cheered as loud as she could for Casey, and after the one race, Casey gave her a thumbs up. At the moment, Izzie was waiting for Casey to finish celebrating with her team so that they could talk. She was making small talk with Elsa when Casey finally walked over. _

_ “I can’t believe you’re actually here. You never said anything!” Casey exclaimed as she threw her arms around Izzie, wrapping her in a hug. _

_ “Well that usually tends to be the idea of a surprise,” Izzie replied in a cheeky manner, also putting her arms around Izzie in order to reciprocate the hug. _

_ “You did great today sweetie,” Elsa congratulated her daughter, taking a quick picture of Casey and Izzie hugging. _

_ Still embraced in the hug, Izzie whispered in Casey’s ear, “I think honey bear is better.” Izzie could feel Casey trying to hold her laugh in, but she failed, which caused Izzie to start laughing as well. This got them a confused look from Elsa, who had no idea what had transpired. _

_ The rest of that night went by without any issues other than Casey and Izzie lovingly bickering with one another when they were laying in Casey’s bed in her dorm. Elsa and Doug had left to go to the hotel they were staying at, but Izzie was spending the night with Casey. Both girls ended up falling asleep during the movie they had been watching: Casey from her meet and Izzie from trying to adjust to the time zones. _

\--------------------------

“I still can’t believe you managed to keep it a surprise. You’re awful at keeping stuff surprises,” Casey commented, beginning to enjoy all the reminiscing they were doing.

Izzie just smiled, thinking about what she had planned as she replied, “Well that was one surprise I managed to keep. Sometimes I can surprise you like that.”

“Or I can surprise you,” Casey began before adding, “For example, when I showed up at your college graduation.”

“Can you blame me?” Izzie questioned before explaining herself, “Your graduation was the day before, how was I supposed to expect you would be all moved out and in Pennsylvania for my graduation?” Memories of her college graduation began floating back to Izzie.

\--------------------------

_ “Can you believe we’ve made it this far?” Taylor asked as they were marching into graduation. Somehow by some fortunate luck, heer and Izzie were in order in the alphabet for their last names, so the two friends were able to sit by each other. _

_ Lightly snorting, Izzie spoke over her shoulder to Taylor, “It is pretty unbelievable, but it’s happening.” Izzie focused her attention back on walking, seeing as they were finally walking through the doorway into where graduation was being held. She wasn’t expecting anyone to be there for her, because Casey’s graduation had been yesterday, so Casey was probably still in California along with her parents. It hurt knowing that no one was there for her, but it wasn’t like she could ask Casey to miss her own graduation. Plus, it wasn’t like anyone in her family ever showed an interest except for her grandma, and she had passed away a few years ago. So when she heard Taylor tell her to look to her left, she was completely stunned. _

_ Standing there staring at her was Casey, who smiled at her. Izzie had stopped walking when she saw Casey, but it didn’t last of long as Taylor was pushing her along. _

_ “You can gawk at her later when you won’t be holding up graduation,” Taylor whispered to her as she pushed Izzie along. _

_ Izzie shot one last glance at Casey before giving Taylor a fake death glare as she said, her voice feigning anger, “A few extra minutes of graduation won’t kill you.” _

_ “Doesn’t mean I want to endure them,” Taylor shot back as they entered into their row of seats. _

_ Rolling her eyes at her friend, Izzie turned her attention to what was being said, and sat down when they were directed to.  _

_ Graduation went by as quickly as a college graduation can go, which isn’t very fast. The whole time Izzie wanted to turn back to look at Casey, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to see her girlfriend; there were too many people in the building for her to be able to easily see. So instead she waited for when it would be her turn to walk across the stage, because then she would be able to look out and try to spot Casey. She also would talk to Taylor here and there throughout the ceremony, because some of the things people said in their speeches, it was impossible not to crack a joke at. The only issue was they couldn’t really laugh without being stared at, so they had to resort to trying not to laugh, which only made them laugh harder. When it was finally time for them to get their diplomas, Izzie suddenly felt incredibly nervous, even though all she would be doing is walking across a stage and accepting a diploma, maybe a few handshakes. Completely simple things, but she was still nervous, and she knew it was probably because Casey was there with Elsa and Doug, and also because walking across that stage ended a chapter in her life. Standing up, she started taking deep breaths to calm herself and proceeded to walk towards the stage. When she finally got up onto the stage she could feel the warmth of the lights on her, which would normally cause her nervousness to spike, but she looked out and saw Casey which grounded her, because even from the distance she was at, she could tell Casey was beaming with pride. Izzie managed to bury her nervousness with that look, and she managed to walk across that stage and accept her diploma without any mistakes. When she finally sat back down, all Izzie could think about was seeing Casey afterwards, and fortunately for her, that came about ten minutes later.  _

_ “Newton! How are you even here right now? Your graduation was literally yesterday,” Izzie called out as she approached Casey. _

_ Glancing over Izzie’s shoulder, Casey joyfully replied, “I had a little help from my parents, but I had some help from another person.” _

_ “It’s true,” Taylor confirmed, which announced her presence to Izzie, before she continued, “She told me where they would be sitting so I could point them out to you.” _

_ “I thought cheering for you would’ve been more fun, but Casey shot that idea down,” Elsa commented, which elicited a laugh from Izzie. _

_ “Wow, way to be a buzzkill,” Izzie said, directing it towards Casey, before telling Taylor, “I can’t believe you kept this from me!” _

_ Smiling innocently at Izzie, Taylor defended herself by saying, “I was sworn to secrecy. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should probably go talk to my family.” _

_ Everyone exchanged their goodbyes to Taylor, and she walked away to join her family. To which Izzie closed the space between her and Casey and hugged her. _

_ “I’m so glad you’re here,” Izzie murmured as she hugged Casey, because her whole day had turned amazing when she had seen Casey in the crowd. _

_ “I wouldn't have missed this for the life of me,” Casey confessed as she hugged Izzie back. _

_ Looking at the two girls, Elsa looked up at Doug and smiled, knowing that they had made the right decision by managing to somehow make it to this graduation. _

_ Pulling back from the hug, Izzie turned towards Casey’s parents and inquired, “So how did you guys manage to make it here?” She couldn’t figure out how they would’ve been able to make it to her graduation if Casey’s yesterday. _

_ Taking the lead, Elsa explained, “Let’s just say it took a lot of thinking to get it to work out, and there wasn’t much sleep to be had for us to be able to make it here.” _

_ “We almost didn’t make it here actually. We almost missed our flight,” Doug added after his wife had stopped speaking. _

_ “Dad! She didn’t need to know that, because we are here, and that’s all that matters,” Casey said, slightly annoyed that her dad had made that comment. _

_ Turning to look at Casey, Izzie remarked, “You’re right about you being here being all that matters, because it really made my day. It sucks I couldn’t go to yours yesterday, but I really appreciate you being able to make it to mine.” _

_ “Of course Iz,” Casey affirmed, hugging Izzie, and kissing her on the top of her head. _

\--------------------------

“I guess you have a point,” Casey conceded, looking down at the table as she did so, not wanting to see the smug look on Izzie’s face since she admitted that she was right.

Izzie did have a smug look on her face, because loved when Casey admitted that she had a solid argument. Waiting until Casey looked back up at her, she commented, “We really do have a lot of amazing memories together.”

Giving Izzie a weird look, Casey nervously stated, “I would hope we do.” Unable to stop herself from continuing to nervously talk, she asked, “Are you okay? I know you said you were feeling reminiscent, but there has to be a reason, it doesn’t just come out of the blue. Especially not to the extent to which you’re taking it. So what’s causing it?”

Carefully answering the question, Izzie replied, “First off, I am definitely okay. Secondly, I went to your parents’ house about a week ago and then I went back today, and I guess that’s what’s causing it. I talked to your dad a little, but it was your mom I mostly spoke to. I had a lot I wanted to talk to her about.” 

Casey said nothing for a few minutes as she processed this information, which gave Izzie time to reflect back on her visits to the Gardner household.

\--------------------------

_ Izzie was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life. Of course the reason why she was standing in front of the Gardner’s front door—sans Casey—warranted how nervous she was. Building up her courage, she raised her hand and knocked on the door. She lowered her hand and waited for either Elsa or Doug to open the door, and while she waited, she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself. She smiled when the door opened revealing Elsa who looked surprised to see her. _

_ “Izzie, is everything okay? Where’s Casey?” Elsa asked, her voice filled with concern as she opened the door further allowing Izzie to enter. _

_ Walking into the house, Izzie replied, “Everything’s fine Mrs Gardner. Casey’s just back at our apartment.” Izzie paused to take a deep breath before continuing, “She actually thinks I’m at the gym currently, because I couldn’t let her know I was here. She would ask too many questions about why I needed to come here.” _

_ Closing the door while Izzie spoke, Elsa turned around and curiously asked, “Well, why are you here?” _

_ “Because I need to talk to you and your husband about Casey,” Izzie nervously stated, moving towards the couch and sitting down. _

_ “Who was at the door?” Doug asked as he walked down the stairs before he saw Izzie, and when he saw Izzie, he asked, “Is everything okay Izzie?” _

_ “Everything’s perfect, that’s why I’m here,” Izzie stated, a smile forming on her face as she thought of Casey. She watched as both of Casey’s parents sat down before they spoke to her again. _

_ Doug glanced at his wife before confusedly asking, “You’re here because things are perfect?” _

_ Izzie could feel both of them staring at her as she answered, “Yes, that’s why I’m here. Everything is just so amazing with Casey, and I love her so much.” Izzie paused, collecting herself so she could confidently state, “I’m here because I want to marry your daughter. So I guess I’m here to know if that’s acceptable.” Directing her gaze on the ground, Izzie waited for a response from Casey’s parents. _

_ Elsa just let out a surprised “Oh,” while Doug sat in silence at the question, which caused Izzie’s nervousness to increase tenfold as they weren’t answering. She was about to say something else when Doug finally spoke. _

_ “Izzie, you’ve been a part of this family since you became friends with Casey, and you became even more a part of our family when you started dating Casey. Over the course of the years you have shown how much you care for Casey, and it’s clear that she cares just as much as you. I’ve honestly been expecting you to bring this up for a while now, and I would love it if you asked Casey to marry you,” Doug shared, his voice full of honesty. _

_ Feeling tears beginning to form in her eyes at Doug’s words, Izzie dabbed at her eyes while Elsa began speaking. _

_ “Everything that Doug said is true. You’ve been a part of our family for years now, and I would love it if you asked Casey to marry you. You two have a once in a lifetime love, and I’m glad you both allowed it to happen. I know it wasn’t easy at first for either of you, especially you, and I’m glad you two embraced your feelings, allowing them to blossom into the relationship you have with Casey. You two have grown so much together and you truly bring out the best in one another, and you help each other grow. That’s what true love looks like,” Elsa divulged as she also wiped at her eyes because of Izzie’s intentions. _

_ After a few moments, Izzie managed to shakily say, “Thank you so much. This means so much to me. I’m so glad you two support what I want to do.” Izzie couldn’t bring herself to share just how much their words meant to her, mostly the parts where they said how she was a part of their family, because the Gardner’s had truly been there for her when no one else had been. They had offered her a place to permanently stay when her mother decided to leave, they had helped her surprise Casey, they had supported her where her own mother hadn’t, they had really been the parents she had never had. _

_ Smiling at Izzie, Elsa curiously asked, “When do you plan on asking her?” _

_ Izzie finally looked up at Elsa as she answered, “Well, I actually made reservations at this restaurant for next week, and I planned on doing it then. I went with the presumption that you guys would say yes, I guess.” _

_ “Of course we would say yes. You two are meant for each other,” Doug stated, genuinely meaning it, because he believed Casey and Izzie were meant for each other. _

_ “Have you bought a ring yet?” Elsa asked, her voice full of sincere curiosity and interest in what was going to happen. _

_ “Not yet,” Izzie admitted before continuing, “I was going to do that tomorrow after I came to talk to you guys.” Izzie hoped she didn’t sound ill-prepared with her answer, but she wanted to make sure they were okay with everything before she went through with buying a ring. _

_ “Well, you don’t have to do that,” Elsa began and continued when Izzie gave her a confused look, “I have the perfect ring, it’s a family heirloom. And before you say anything, yes, it is Casey’s type of style. In fact she made a comment about how she loved it when I showed it to her a few years ago, and it was actually a genuine comment. Not one of her sarcastic ones.” _

_ “A-Are you sure Mrs Gardner?” Izzie asked, completely taken aback that Elsa would offer her a ring to propose to Casey with. _

_ “Yes, I’m sure. I always envisioned Casey to be the one it would be given to one day,” Elsa admitted, which led to Izzie standing up and going over to hug Elsa. _

_ “Thank you so much Mrs Garder. And thank you to you too, Mr Gardner,” Izzie happily thanked, still wrapping her head around the fact that she would soon be proposing to Casey. _

\--------------------------

_ It was a little over a week later and Izzie found herself knocking on the same door she had eight days ago. This time she wasn’t as nervous as she was the last time, but she knew her nerves would get to her later that night. When the door opened she smiled at Elsa who smiled back at her. _

_ “Today’s the day, eh?” Elsa asked as she let Izzie into the house, closer the door once Izzie entered. _

_ “Yes it is. A part of me can’t believe that I’m about to do this tonight, but I think I know how I want to do it,” Izzie admitted as she sat down. _

_ “And how do you want to do it?” Elsa questioned, wanting to know what Izzie had in plan for the evening. _

_ Deciding how she wanted to explain it, Izzie optimistically said, “I’m pretty sure I want to bring up important events from our relationship so that she has them all in mind, and then I’m going to ask her. This is barring no complete and utter nervousness on my part. But I think I’m pretty committed to this idea, because I just feel like she’ll really like it.” _

_ A thoughtful look was on Elsa’s face as she agreed, “I think she’ll love it Izzie. I should probably give you that ring now so that you can get back to work.” Not giving Izzie a chance to answer, Elsa left the room and returned moments later with a little box that held the ring. _

_ Looking up at Elsa, Izzie expressed her gratitude by saying, “Thank you so much Mrs Gardner. I appreciate you allowing me to use this ring.” _

_ “You’re welcome Izzie. Let me know how it goes tonight,” Elsa replied happily to Izzie. _

_ “I most definitely will,” Izzie confidently assured as she stood up to leave. _

\--------------------------

“Why did you need to talk to them?” Casey finally managed to ask, her voice a mixture of confusion and concern. 

Letting out a small, nervous laugh, Izzie replied, “I had to talk to them about you.” Izzie wasn’t meaning to be vague with her answer, but it was just how it came out.

“What about me?” Casey asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice that Izzie instantly recognized.

Nervously smiling at Casey, Izzie pulled something out of her pocket, making sure to keep it out of Casey’s sight as she began to say, “I’m going to choose not to answer that question, and instead opt for what I had planned to say to you.” Taking a deep breath, Izzie continued on with what she wanted to say, “Casey Gardner, when we first met, I treated you like shit, and I wouldn’t change that, because it ultimately led to where we are today. Somewhere along the line I fell in love with you , and honestly it might’ve been that day when I acted like you had tripped me. And when you finally showed you liked me back, I pulled away and acted dumb, but you still forgave me and decided you weren’t looking for easy. And sometimes things haven’t been easy, but we’ve worked through those things, together. We worked through the long distance in college, and we came out stronger because of it. When I learned I would never be able to competitively compete in track again, you talked to me for hours on the phone telling me that I would be able to overcome that obstacle. I don’t think would’ve been able to had it not been for you. You’ve helped me so much and you’ve always been there for me. You introduced me to what a loving and caring environment was, and you always made sure I had a place to sleep at night, even if it meant you coming to pick me up in the middle of the night during high school. You have always had my back and looked out for me, and I have always loved that about you. I honestly love everything about you Casey. I love that even after all these years you’ll still respond to Newton, even though it’s an incredibly old nickname. I love pretty much everything about you except for one thing.” Izzie paused after that sentence and stood up before getting down on one knee, holding up the ring box and opening it, before finishing her proposal, “The one thing I don’t love is that you aren’t my wife, which leads me to my next sentence. Will you marry me?” Izzie stared up at Casey waiting for her to process everything she had just said. She watched as the initial shock on Casey’s face turned into her recognizable loving look, but she could also see tears forming in Casey’s eyes out of what she hoped was happiness.

“Oh my God Izzie, of course I’ll marry you!” Casey exclaimed, wiping at her eyes before helping Izzie up and wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

Escaping from the hug, Izzie looked down at the ring box and back up at Casey before commenting, “I guess there’s only one thing left to do then.” Izzie took the ring out of the box and looked at Casey, who offered up her hand, which Izzie then slid the ring onto, smiling the entire time she did so. “I love you Casey,” Izzie endearingly said before moving closer to Casey and kissing her. She smiled into the kiss when Casey kissed her back, and for a brief moment Izzie forgot they were in a restaurant until people started clapping, which caused her to sheepishly pull away.

Casey took this as her chance to affectionately say back, “I love you too Izzie.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy endings are the best and this was pretty happy. I just really wanted to write about Cazzie, but I wanted to do it more in the future so that I could do more with my own creativity which spawned this one-shot. I hope you all enjoyed! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. Come deal with my nonsense on Twitter @posieclown


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